Infection, Toxins, Demon Possession? ... or Something Else Entirely?

The RAM aircraft was called into action early Tuesday morning in response to a strange series of medical circumstances in the South Rupununi.   A group of secondary school students, mostly girls, from outlying villages have been experiencing a series of unusual symptoms.

Spells of fainting, leg cramping, and body convulsions interrupted by periods of apparent normalcy were observed and the parents, villagers and local health workers were naturally alarmed.
A response from the Health Department was flown in to conduct a full clinical, social and environmental assessment of the situation.  The team, including acting Regional Health Officer Dr. M. Ally, worked diligently throughout the day to treat the clients, speak to the families and care givers, and help determine the source of the problem.

Blood samples were taken and flown back in the afternoon to help determine or rule out certain conditions. Many of the teenager's parents had to travel many miles by bicycle and foot to reach into Aishalton to help care for the in-patients who overwhelmed the small nursing staff at the hospital.

Nearly a dozen students have been affected.  The students are normally housed in gender-segregated dormitories with a one house mother and one house father responsible around the clock, seven days a week.

A retired Nurse who spent most of her career at Aishalton Hospital said she had never seen anything like it in all her years of service.  Similar cases have recently been observed at other villages in the deep south.  Members of clergy from various sects have visited the patients and held prayer sessions and other religious activities aimed at assisting the persons involved.

Pictured here is a section of the Rupununi Savanna after a fire created an unusual pattern at the beginning of the dry season on a recent medical flight.

The second image shows a recent Medevac flight at Achiwib airstrip which featured a teenage girl suffering from similar symptoms.  In that case an underlying social issue may have played a role.  The family reported that the girl had her hair cut by unknown assailants while the parents were away at their farm.

The patient had been reportedly loosing consciousness prior to the emergency flight.  Due to the lack of communication infrastructure for this scattered and remote population, RAM is often asked to respond with far less than the ideal amount and quality information.

Mental health has also been identified by the organization as an area where very few services, if any are currently available in this district. Discussions were held with the village touchau (chief) and parents regarding the situation and the underlying emotional stressors at the time.

Medivac at Sunrise

Special thanks to volunteer Nurse Marcy Gravesande for joining today's early morning evacuation flight from Ogle. The call came in from Yupukari Village last night - an eight year old boy with a compound arm fracture. The boy will be picked up from the Karanambu airstrip.

Pictured below is the reason the aircraft had to overnight at Georgetown: a fractured hip evacuated yesterday afternoon from the Rupununi along with two other emergency patients.

RAM Expedition in Progress.

Volunteering in southern Guyana with RAM can get interesting in more ways than one. Pictured here is a Speckled Caiman (Alligator) battling an Anaconda in the Central Rupununi a few days ago.

RAM expedition #682 is currently underway in this district and will be working their way, village to village along the Rupununi River through the North Savannas. The team is made up of overseas-based medical professionals headed by Dr Jim Shipley and features volunteers from Georgetown with support from the Regional health department. Dentex Atkinson Daniels and Rehab Assistant Druanne Browne of Annai health Center have joined the team.

Collaborating with, and supporting the work of the public health sector is an important feature of RAM's work in the interior. Pictured here is some of the medication supplied by the Ministry of Health - evidence of their partnership with the NGO.

Special thanks to Don Melville for contributing the featured photograph. Stay tuned for more updates.